How-To Geek

It's no exaggeration to say that the Compact Disc (CD) dominated the '90s. It's really a technology of the '80s, but the '90s is when the format peaked, and when its most likely threat arose, and failed.

One of the first apps I install on a new Android device isn't from the Play Store; it's an alternative to the Play Store. F-Droid is an open-source app store packed with useful apps that often have no ads, tracking, or subscriptions. It's perfect as a companion to the Play Store, and what's more, it works on just about any Android device.

Our phones were once limited by their power, but they now pack all the power of a larger PC. What they lack, more than ever, are ports. But that’s a problem a USB-C hub can solve, and it’s one of the simplest ways to upgrade your phone.

Paramount+ subscribers in the U.S. are currently on a merry-go-round of choice on the streaming service, lately. First off, Dutton Ranch is blowing up the charts as Rip and Beth battle it out over new territory in Texas, Couples Therapy returns for a fifth season of real struggling people bearing it all on camera, and The Chi is on its series-ending victory lap.

Happy Memorial Day weekend. It's the unofficial start of summer, even though the weather doesn't seem to cooperate. Hopefully, you have some time off and can stream some of the new movies that arrived last week, including Ladies First on Netflix and One Battle After Another on Prime Video.

The Raspberry Pi is a do-it-all system, and that led to many people using it in their homelabs. However, in recent years, mini PCs have replaced Raspberry Pis in serious homelabs. Here's why that happened, and why it's not a bad thing.

According to the American Pet Products Association, 87% of dog parents who travel do so by car. It's not hard to understand why. Boarding costs have climbed, pet-friendly hotels are more available than ever, and for many, the idea of leaving their dog behind for a week simply isn't an option.

In celebration of Memorial Day and as summer approaches, now is the perfect time to head to Home Depot and score some tools for DIY projects. If you need some new tools or additional battery packs, you'll be happy to hear Home Depot's buy-one-get-one deal is back, not to mention huge savings on power tools that you don't want to miss.

With most Android phones now shipping without a charger in the box, picking the right aftermarket charger has become more important than ever. Luckily, the USB Power Delivery (USB PD) standard has made this much easier by standardizing fast charging across brands.

I've been building PCs for 20 years, so it goes without saying that I've also done my fair share of troubleshooting various problems for myself, but also for friends, family, and random strangers on the internet. It's a tedious process, and prior to a few years ago, it involved strong googling skills. These days, many people turn to an AI chatbot of their choice and save themselves from sifting through various articles and forums.

Tesla has issued a slew of recalls for the Model Y and Cybertruck, including one over missing labels that could lead to crashes.

I've run a NAS for years, but it always felt like something was missing. Adding a Raspberry Pi to the mix changed everything. It's a small, cheap upgrade that quietly solved problems I didn't even know I had.

As a movie enthusiast, I’m always looking for a good thriller with a unique story where tension, danger, and uncertainty reign supreme. Whether it’s psychological mind games, a high-stakes mystery, or pulse-pounding action, it should tap into something primal that keeps me on the edge of my seat, with my eyes glued to the screen.

As a family with kids, we have far more stuff than can comfortably fit in our home. Thankfully, there's a useful attic where we can dump stuff when it's not in use. In the past, finding things in the attic involved hunting through multiple storage bins, but some cheap NFC tags solved the problem.

Most people set up Google Wallet once for payments and never open it again. Once your credit or debit cards are loaded onto it, people simply tap and pay, and often don’t realize that Google Wallet holds a lot more potential.

At the time of writing, CachyOS sits in the #1 spot on DistroWatch. It’s been getting a lot of attention, and honestly, much of it is deserved. But there’s another Arch-based distro that doesn’t get nearly as much love, and I think it’s the better pick for most people—I’m talking about Garuda Linux. I’ve run both distros on real hardware, and here’s why I believe Garuda is better than CachyOS in the ways that actually matter.

Most people use Claude the same way. Open the app, type a question, read the answer, close the tab. It's useful enough that way and, in fact, better than a Google search for a lot of things. But if that's all you're doing, you're getting maybe 20% of what Claude actually is.

Your mini PC, or most mini PCs you might find for purchase new or used, probably comes with just one single Ethernet port. Yet, for full-size PCs it's becoming more common to have dual Ethernet ports as standard.

If there is anything at all I'm obsessed with, it has to be modding Android devices/Fire Tablets and reading comics, books, magazines, and anything else I can get my grubby little hands on.

If you're just getting started with self-hosting apps and services in your homelab, there are a number of mistakes you should try to avoid. These are the five biggest mistakes that I see self-hosters make, and how you can avoid them.